Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Supervisory Social Worker (Substance Use Disorders Programs)



Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Manager)

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/882257600

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Developing short and long- range goals and objectives consistent with the health care system strategic plans, development and implementation of policies and procedures.
• Developing clear and comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures for programs assigned to the mental health supervisor, ensuring staff follow the procedures and all relevant VA directives and guidelines.
• Utilizing appropriate therapeutic techniques or combinations of techniques to provide Evidence-Based and Recovery-Oriented treatment to Veterans with complex substance use needs within assigned areas. Providing the full range of therapeutic interventions, including education, individual and/or family psychotherapy, and group psychotherapy to patients, family members, and significant others, as clinically indicated.
• Evaluating and engaging in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programming, and assisting service leadership in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of clinical programming. Facilitating liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate and improve services.
• Managing and supervising program resources including multidisciplinary staff, funds, space and equipment-utilized in the development and direction of the substance use services, consultations, and training.
• Approving/disapproving of leave and various Human Resources actions, setting employee performance standards and evaluating work performance; establishing procedures for reviewing written materials and interviewing candidates for vacant positions and making selections; counseling and/or administering corrective actions within the delegated authority; hearing and resolving employee complaints/grievances; providing or arranging for needed training, dealing effectively with matters pertaining to the labor-management agreement; and informing employees about policies, procedures, and practices of management as they relate to programs.
• Providing all services which include assessment, diagnosis, individual/group therapy, crisis intervention, suicide risk assessment/safety planning, consultation for other professional staff, and assumes professional responsibility for clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation.
• Ensuring all clinical activities, including documentation, comply with VA and medical center policies and procedures.
• Providing clinical consultation on complex, difficult cases, using advanced practice skills and expertise, specifically focused on substance use disorders and associated interventions and treatments.
• Providing direct clinical care within the full range and scope of practice, including diagnostic assessment, individual and group psychotherapy, and crisis assessment and intervention. Has advanced knowledge of and clinical experiencing facilitating evidence-based interventions for substance use disorders and associated mental health conditions and psychosocial challenges.
• Providing clinical supervision to unlicensed staff and trainees.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

Relocation/Recruitment Incentive: Authorized for a highly qualified applicant.

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)

Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.

Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Telework: Not available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

The full-time, permanent Psychology Program Manager is assigned to the Substance Use Disorders Programs (SUD), which is in the Mental Health Service (MHS). The SUD programs include outpatient services and the Medication Assisted Treatment Program (MAT), which includes the Opioid Treatment Program (OTP).

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education: Have a doctoral degree in psychology from a graduate program in psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) at the time the program was completed. The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. For the purpose of meeting this requirement, the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills. Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas. PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology. There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment. Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology). OR
  
  
  • Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a re-specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re-specialization program) meeting both of the following conditions:
    
    
    • the re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and
    • the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. OR
  • Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND
  • Internships
    
    
    • Have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program that was accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed and that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. OR
    • New VHA psychology internship programs that are in the process of applying for APA accreditation are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement, provided that such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for Psychology and the VHA Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern; OR
    • VHA facilities that offered full-time, one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96-151 (pre-1979) are considered to be acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement; OR
    • Applicants who completed an internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed may be considered eligible for hire only if they are currently board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. (NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.) OR
    • Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature may fulfill this internship requirement by having the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience in a site specifically acceptable to the candidate's doctoral program. If the internship experience is not noted on the applicant's official transcript, the applicant must provide a statement from the doctoral program verifying that the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program.

NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.]

• Licensure: Hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
  
  
  • Exception: Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 [(c)(2)(B)] for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment.

Psychology Program Manager, GS-14

(a) Experience. At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level.

(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meet multiple deadlines.

2. Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools.

3. Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups.

4. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives.

5. Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations.

6. Ability to establish and monitor production and performance prioritie